New Beginnings
by melissa.panyek
Summary: How will Melanie Raven and Roy's relationship be after being reunited after 20 years? Will things be as if he never had to leave or will there be tension? Will she pass the exam and become the first female state alchemist?
1. Chapter 1

"Amanda! Max! Get down here so I can say good bye!" Mel yelled from the front room. She had her bags packed for her trip to Central City. Her reason for going? The state alchemist exam. She had been studying for years for this opportunity. Max and Amanda both came running down the stairs and came to a halt in front of their big sister. "Are you leaving already Mel?" Amanda asked. Before Mel could answer Max had stopped her. "Is it really that time?" Mel sighed. "You both knew about this for some time now. I can't stay here forever and besides, Kristy will come by to check up on you two. I'm sure you guys will be fine on your own. You're not little kids any more." She pulled her siblings closer and hugged them. Max looked up at Mel. "Come back and visit us." Amanda nodded. "Yeah, come back and visit soon." Mel let them go and smiled. "I'll try my best. Be good both of you. I'll miss you guys." She grabbed her bags and left to the train station.

The train ride was long and uneventful but she had finally made it to Central City. Mel stepped off the train and stretched. "Aaah, I'm so stiff. Guess it's to be expected from a first train ride." She made her way out of the station and walked the streets of Central City. "Don't tell me I'm lost." Mel said to herself. She pulled the letter out of her pocket and read it over hoping it would contain directions to Central Command that she might have missed. Too absorbed in the letter Mel wasn't watching where she was going and bumped straight into someone causing her to fall flat on her butt. "I'm terribly sorry miss. Are you alright?" she heard a male say. Mel looked up and saw a young man not much older than herself offering his hand to help her up. He had black hair and onyx eyes, a combination she had only seen one other time in her life, and wore a military uniform. "It's completely my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going." she said taking the man's hand. He helped pull Mel up and she brushed herself off. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here?" the man asked. Mel nodded. "Yeah, it's my first time here and I somehow got myself lost." The man crossed his arms. "Where are you headed? Maybe I could help you." he offered. "I'm on my way to Central Command. I'm to meet someone there." Mel said putting the letter back in her pocket. The man tilted his head to the side. "Is that so? Well you're in luck. I was just on my way there myself. I could take you there if you like." "That would be helpful actually thank you." she said smiling. "I never did introduce myself. I'm Colonel Roy Mustang, alchemist with the military." Roy extended his hand to Mel. Mel's eyes got very wide. She couldn't believe her childhood friend was standing right in front of her. "I-I'm Melanie Raven, but everyone just calls me..." "Mel?!" Roy interrupted. She nodded and threw her arms around him giving him a big hug.

Roy returned the hug. "It's been awhile hasn't it?" Mel looked up at him and let him go. "20 long years Roy. So is this what you've been doing?" He nodded. "The past nine years." They continued walking to Central Command chatting along the way. "I never did ask but who exactly are you meeting here?" Roy asked leading Mel to his office. "Believe it or not I was told to meet you. I was pretty excited when I read it in the letter because that meant I would get to see you again." Mel recalled just how happy she was when she read the letter for the first made him smile. "I was told I would be talking to someone about the state alchemy exam but I never would have thought it would be you." Roy stopped in front of his office. "Here, let me take your bags. They look a bit heavy. I just need to run into my office and get my jacket and tell the guys to go home." Mel gave her bags to Roy. He put the duffle bag on his shoulder and took the suit case in his hand, turned around, and opened the door for Mel. She walked in and Roy followed behind her. There were two guys sitting around talking when they walked in.

"Who's your lady friend Colonel?" the blonde asked with a smirk on his face. Roy shot him a look that told him to shut up. "I should probably introduce you guys to her. This is Melanie Raven. She is a childhood friend friend of mine I just happen to literally run into on my way back here. She is taking the state alchemy exam tomorrow." He turned to Mel. "These guys are two of my subordinates. The tall blonde with the stupid look on his face is Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc and the short one with glasses is Master Sargent Kain Fuery. You will get to meet the others tomorrow." Mel politely bowed. "It's nice to meet you both. If I pass the exam hopefully I'll get to know you guys better." Havoc got a look on his face that made it obvious that the wheels in his head were turning. He got up from where he was sitting and walked over to Mel. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Maybe I can take you out some time." Roy glared at Havoc. "Try anything and I will burn you to a crisp. Is that clear?" Mel couldn't help but laugh. "It's fine Roy. I don't mind actually but I will only go if I pass my exam." Havoc smiled and nudged her. "Well be sure to pass. Well I've got to go. I'll see you all tomorrow." He left the office a happy person. Furey stood up and started to leave himself. He stopped in front of Mel. "It's nice to meet you. I wish I could talk but I have to get going myself. If you pass the exam I would love to get to know you more. You seem like a fun person." Mel smiled. "If I have time tomorrow maybe we can talk a little." "Good idea. I'll see you both tomorrow. Bye Melanie, Colonel" Fuery said leaving the office. Roy smirked and walked over to his desk to grab his jacket. "No pressure to pass at all." "Nope, none at all." Mel replied sarcastically.

Roy walked back to the door and walk out with Mel close behind and closed his office door. "Did you call a hotel before coming out here?" he asked as they walked down the hall. Mel put her hand to her forehead. "Shit. I completely forgot." Roy sighed and shook his head. "That won't do. The hotels around here don't take reservations this late either." He looked to his side. "Looks like you will have to stay with me tonight." Mel frowned. "Thanks Roy. I'm sorry about this." Roy put his arm around Mel and smiled. "Aw come on, don't be that way. I live alone anyways so a little company, especially from an old friend, is more than welcomed." She looked at him. "You live alone? You're not married or anything?" He shook his head and held the door open for her. "Nope. Work prevents me from from being able to do so. The most I have really been able to do are dates but none of those women are really worth taking it further with." Mel walked out of Central Command and followed Roy. "That's to bad. I was sure you would have had a family by now." Roy led Mel to his car and opened the door for her before putting her bags in the back. Mel smiled at Roy. "Thank you Roy." He returned the smile. "It's the least I can do for an old friend." He closed the car doors and walked over to the driver's side, got in, and started the car. They sat in silence the entire ride lost in their thoughts. Roy pulled in front of and house and turned off the car. "Well, here we are." he said getting out of the car. Mel followed his lead and stepped out as well. "Looks about right for a single guy." she said taking her bags out of the car and shutting the doors. Roy shook his. "You have no room to talk. You aren't exactly taken yourself." She laughed and shrugged. "Can't be helped I guess." They walked up the walkway to the door of Roy's house. He unlocked to door and opened it for her. Mel walked in and Roy followed behind her. "You can set your bags over by the table and make yourself comfortable. I'm going to go clean up so I'll be right back." Mel walked over to the table and set her bags down. "Alright. We can talk some more after you get back" "Sounds good to me." he said and walked to the bathroom. Mel went over to the sofa and sat down. She tried to stay awake but she was tried from the long train ride and ended up falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Roy came back from cleaning up a short time later and was about to start talking to Mel when he saw her fast asleep on the sofa. He smiled and walked over to the sofa, pulled the blanket he kept on the back off, and covered her up. "Must have been one hell of a trip for her. I wasn't out of the room that long and she's already passed out. Catching up will have to wait for another day." Roy went into the kitchen and got himself a glass of water. After he had finished drinking he leaned back against the counter and looked at Mel. "Maybe she might do Havoc some good. He does need someone to keep him in check." Just as he pushed himself off the counter so he could get some sleep himself Mel shot up, let out a gasp, and pulled her knees to her chest. Roy, knowing that reaction all too well, rushed over to her and sat next to her. "Are you alright?" he asked placing a hand on her back. Mel looked up at Roy with tears in her eyes and shook her head. "No." "What's wrong?" he asked concerned. "Memories. Awful memories are coming back to me in my dreams Roy." The tears in her eyes started rolling down her cheeks. Roy wiped the tears from her face. "Mel, what happened after I left?" She took a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking. "Shortly after you left I made a new friend. Well when I was eight I walked to her house to play. Half way there I was attacked by a group of thugs and knocked out. They took me back to where their boss was. When I woke up I was in a room alone and scared. Their boss and a few other members came into the room and tried to torture me. I did the only thing I could and fought back just enough that they had to give up. Just as I thought they were going to leave I let my guard down and that was the biggest mistake I ever made. One of the guys rushed over to me and grabbed me and held my head up. Their boss walked over to me and ,with the blade he kept with him, cut my neck." She pulled down the collar of her shirt to reveal a scar at the base of her neck. The tears came harder as she recalled what happened to her. "They were able to find out who tipped off the police and they killed him before they abandoned the building and left me for dead. I was able to stay awake just long enough for the police to find me."

Roy's hand balled up into a fist as what Mel told him sunk in. "Dammit..." He wrapped his arms around her to comfort her and she buried her face in his shirt still crying. "This is all my fault." Roy said. "Had I not left Wellesley none of this would have happened to you. I should have convinced my aunt to move there. I'm so sorry. I promise I won't let anything happen to you." He pushed her away so her could look at her. "You should get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow and I don't think you want to be tired. I'll be watching the skills portion of the exam so I expect you to give it your best." Mel gave him a soft smile and nodded. "You're right. I'll give it my all tomorrow." Roy returned her smile. "I'll sit right here until you fall asleep if you want." "Thank you. I would appreciate it Roy." She laid back down and rolled on her side and closed her eyes. He sat right next to her like he promised and rubbed her back so she knew he was still there. After he was sure she was asleep he got up and went to sleep himself.

Mel woke up the next morning to Roy in the kitchen. She sat up and stretched a little before speaking. "Good morning." Roy looked over his shoulder at her. "I see you're awake. Did you sleep well?" Mel nodded. "Yep. Thank you, Roy." He turned around and placed an omelet on the two plates that we on the island behind him. He picked them both up and placed them on the table. "Hmm? What for?" he asked slightly confused. Before she could answer he spoke again. "Come over here and sit. I made us breakfast. We can continue at the table." Mel got up and walked over to the table and sat down. "For yesterday." she finally answered. "Oh." He stopped eating and looked up from his food. "I was worried about you last night. You had me scared Mel. I know what it's like to have awful memories come back to you in a dream. I didn't want you to suffer through it alone like I have to." Mel looked down. "I didn't mean to worry you." Roy offered her a small smile. "Don't worry about it. These kind of things can't be helped." He paused for a moment. "Oh, one other thing. The bathroom is down the hall to the left so after you finish eating you can clean up and get ready for the exam in there." She nodded. "Good idea. I don't want to take my exam looking like a mess." After they both finished eating Mel went to go get ready for the state alchemist exam and Roy cleaned up.

Once they were both ready they left for Roy's office. Upon entering they were greeted by five soldiers including Havoc and Furey from the day before. "Good morning sir." they all said at once. "Colonel, You're late again." the only female said while doing her work. She had blonde hair that she wore up and she looked around Mel's age. Roy scratched the back of his head. "Yeah yeah, I know." The blonde woman finally looked up from her work and saw Mel. "Who's this sir?" "It's not what it looks like Lieutenant." He paused to clear his throat. "Havoc, Furey, you both already met her. As for the rest of you this is my childhood friend, Melanie Raven. She's taking the state alchemist exam today and I got put in charge of briefing her on it." Mel smiled at the group. "Hello, it's nice to meet you all. You can just call me Mel for short." "Mel, the shorter of the two men is Second Lieutenant Haymans Breda and tall one is Warrent Officer Vato Fallman." Roy looked towards the woman at her desk. "The lovely woman over there doing some work is First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. She's my most trusted subordinate. She also keeps us all in line and makes sure we get our work done. The Lieutenant may seem cold at a first glance but she's actually kind." Riza looked up and shot him a glare. "Colonel, please." He chuckled knowing he got a reaction out of her. "Fine, fine. I'll stop. Any ways, you can have a seat on the sofa so I can brief you on the exam." Mel and Roy headed to the sofa and arm chairs in front of his desk. Mel sat on the sofa and Roy sat in the arm chair directly in front of her. "I'm going to guess that because this is an exam you won't be able to tell me much will you?" Mel questioned. Roy nodded. "You would be correct. I can tell you this: there are four parts to the exam; an interview, a psychological evaluation, a written exam, and finally a skills test."

Before he could continue he was interrupted by the door flying open and a man with dark hair and glasses coming in. "Yo, Roy!" the man exclaimed. "Dammit Hughes. What do you want?" Roy asked irritated. "What's this I hear about you having a pretty woman in your office?" Hughes grinned. Roy covered his eyes. "_Word travels way too fast around this place._" he thought. "Hughes, it's not what you think." He gestured to Mel. " Huges, this is Melanie Raven but from the sounds of it she much rather everyone call her by her nickname Mel." "You just figured that out Roy?" Mel teased. "Well excuse me." he teased back. "Anyways, Mel, this is Lietuenant Colonel Maes Hughes. He's been a good friend of mine since the my days at the academy." Hughes walked over to Mel and shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sure you will make Roy a fine wife someday." "What?!" they exclaimed. Hughes looked at Roy. "Come on Roy. You need to settle down and get yourself a wife." "She's just a friend Hughes." he said resting his head on his head. Breda and Havoc, who were both eavesdropping, couldn't hide their laughter anymore and Mel couldn't help but laugh herself. "He has a point you know Roy. You're not getting any younger." Roy gave Mel a pleading look. "Hughes, don't you have work to do?" Hughes straightened himself up. "Oh, right. I completely forgot. See ya Roy." He turned around and left for his office. "The annoying friend?" He shook his head. "You have no idea. Good guy, he just really likes to push my buttons." Roy pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. "You should probably get going. The exams will be starting soon. I'll be watching during the skills portion so I'll be looking forward to seeing what you can do." Mel got up and started for the door. "You won't be disappointed." she said and walked out.

After the interview, the psychological evaluation, and written parts of the exam it was finally time for the skills portion. It was being held on the parade grounds to minimize damage. Mel stood aside so she could watch the other people who made it that far. She seen people use metal, water, air, and even earth but no one did the alchemy she knew. Roy, like he said, was watching from the side lines. "_I wonder what she's got planned._" he thought. When Mel felt it was clear enough she looked around and spotted a large bolder and went towards it. Once she was in position she pulled a ring out of her pocket. "This will do just fine." she said slipping it on her finger. Once it was on she put her hands to the ground causing the ring to activate. A blue spark traveled across the ground and into the rock causing it to explode like a bomb. Roy stood there wide eyed and arms cross. "I didn't know she was capable of that." Once the dust settled enough for for everyone to see he made his way to Mel and put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, you were right. I wasn't disappointed." Mel turned her head to look at Roy and smirked. "Weren't expecting that were you?" He just simply shook his head. "Well, I think you have a good shot." he said gesturing towards the judges. They all had the same look; complete shock. No one expected an innocent looking young woman to know explosive alchemy. Roy looked down at the ring on Mel's finger. "So that ring, does it have your transmutation circle on it?" She nodded. "That's right. My teacher made it and gave it to me after mastering his alchemy." "Very interesting. Well it will come in handy if you get in the military. Oh, by the way, I made your hotel reservation for you during the exam I couldn't watch." He handed her a piece of paper. "Here is where you will be staying." Mel took the paper and looked at it. "Thanks Roy. I really appreciate it." "You may want to head there now and clean up. You don't want to be covered in dirt on your date." Mel gave Roy a confused look. "After you left Havoc said he was taking you out tonight regardless if you pass or not. Let's just say I had to give him a talking to." Mel started laughing. "Well I guess I should get going than." "I can drop you off and then swing by my place and get your bags for you." Roy suggested. "I'll probably need my stuff, thanks." Roy led Mel out of Central HQ and to his car and the left for the hotel.


End file.
